In “Amazon Sued for Not Telling New York Store Customers about Tracking Biometrics” (NBC News, March 17, 2023), NBC News covers a class-action lawsuit accusing Amazon of failing to properly inform New York City customers of biometric information collection in Amazon Go stores—including palm scans and measuring individuals' bodies to track shoppers.
The suit, which was filed on behalf of Alfredo Rodriguez Perez in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday, says that Amazon violated New York City law, which requires businesses to post signs if they are tracking customers' biometric information. It says that Amazon Go, from the moment customers enter the store to when they leave, track them and the items they take by continuously monitoring their bodies. Specifically, they measure the shape and size of each customer's body by applying computer vision, deep learning algorithms, and sensor fusion.
An Amazon spokesperson countered claiming that the technology used to distinguish shoppers did not constitute biometric technology. Only the customers who choose to enter through Amazon One, their contactless, palm-based identity have their palm-biometric data collected and to them appropriate disclosures are provided.
The class action on behalf of Amazon customer and New York City resident Alfredo Rodriguez Perez was filed in in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York by Pollock Cohen LLP, Peter Romer-Friedman Law PLLC, and the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.
The case is Perez v. Amazon.com, Inc., S.D.N.Y., No. 1:23-cv-02251, complaint filed 3/16/23..
To read the full article, click on the link below.
Amazon Sued for Not Telling New York Store Customers about Tracking Biometrics | NBC News
